Brave and Crazy
by Christa Weald
Summary: *Finished!* A group of Night People cast a spell to help a lonely werewolf find her soulmate, only with the arrival of an ex boyfriend, an old enemy and a hired assassin its not long before everything goes hideously wrong.
1. Part 1

Title: Brave and Crazy  
Author: Christa Weald   
Email: vampyrehunteruk@yahoo.co.uk   
Spoilers: Basic Night World concepts  
Disclaimer: Night World belongs to LJS, everything else including characters and plot lines is mine.  
Rating: 15  
Summary: A group of Night People cast a spell to help a lonely werewolf find her soulmate, only with the arrival of an ex boyfriend, an old enemy and a hired assassin its not long before everything goes hideously wrong.   
Notes: feedback appreciated.  
  
Part 1  
  
"Oh come on, it'll be *fun*," Illyria insisted.  
  
Enya drew her lips together, shaking her head stubbornly. "I said no and I mean *no*. I don't know any of these people. Take Valaire or Eris, or someone who'll appreciate it."  
  
Illyria shook her own head, knowing there was no point in convincing Enya to change her mind. Without a doubt the most stubborn werewolf she had ever met. "Valaire and Eris are already going," she said holding up a black strapless top, then a red one with a high neck, no sleeves and a printed pattern of black roses. "I don't know a *single* Black Iris or any other Night World club within a fifty mile radius."  
  
"Whatever. You'll live."  
  
Illyria's eyes rolled. In the small town of Black River there was very little for anyone. The name alone sounded like it should be a Night Person town - nope, just ordinary small town Texas. Its only claim to fame was its small university that she and her roommate Enya attended.  
  
A new Black Iris club for the Night People (though unless she was missing something there wouldn't be enough people to actually run it) but whatever. It seemed to her to be a fun night out.  
  
And get the world's stubbornest werewolf out the dorm for one. But Enya was *not* budging. Illyria wondered what the deal was - and knew it was more than the whole werewolves were loners theory. Enya didn't have any friends and never went anywhere apart from to class or the library. She never talked about her family or life in high school.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Illyria waited a few seconds. Her roommate's coppery head was buried in a thick text book. Her eyes rolled as she answered. Her friends Katrissa Redfern and Amara Weald were waiting.   
  
"Give me a sect to get my things," Illyria ducked back into her room, picking up a box sitting under her desk, checking it quickly. Then she cursed, realising she had forgotten something. "Hey Enya, you got any matches?"  
  
Enya opened the draw in her bedside table and tossed her a pink lighter. Illyria took it and left with her friends.  
  
  
"Are we sure we want to do this?" Amara asked, setting the spell up[ on the floor of the room she and Katrissa shared.   
  
"God, yes," Illyria said, tossing her gold locks over her shoulder. "The sooner we do the damn ritual, the sooner we'll get out whatever's plugging up that girl's ass."  
  
Katrissa and Amara exchanged glances. Illyria chose to ignore them and her choice of words. As far as she was concerned, as they cast the ritual, they were doing Enya favour.  
  
"The spell is done," Amara said when the chanting was complete.  
  
"So how long will it take for the spell to take effect?" Illyria asked, switching the light on and helping the others clean up.  
  
"A few days, a week at the most," Amara answered.  
  
"You've done this before?" Katrissa stood up, stretching.  
  
Amara, the experienced witch of the group, nodded. "Yes, it was how I found mine. Lizette arrived in town two days later and we've been together for over a year."  
  
Illyria didn't answer. As long as *someone* came, be it he, she or it, and the spell worked, she wasn't fussed.  
  
"It *will* work," Amara insisted. "Believe me, it will."  
  
* * *  
Enya didn't bother hiding the sigh of relief, she felt seeing Illyria and her bimbo brigade leaving the room. She had requested to be put in singles, but she hadn't wanted a roommate, Night Person or others. But no one had listened. She knew either way for her it would be disastrous.  
  
The problem with being a werewolf. Everything people said about them was true, or she had found that anyway. Her hand was reaching for her high school year book,. Junior year. School Paper, Christmas Queen, Prom Princess, cheerleading squad, voted Most Popular since freshman year.   
  
~What a cliché I was,~ she thought angrily, shutting the book and tossing it to one side. She pulled out her desk draw and the locked box inside, finding the key, toying with the little red diary inside. In the blissful world of high school where things were easy, all she had to think about was popularity, the latest fashions, and how to be the latest dance queen.   
  
Enya's fingers caressed the book dreamily. She opened the book somewhere in the middle, skimming lines of her endless neat handwriting.  
  
  
June 28th, 2000  
  
Summer beach party at Cassie's. I had the best bikini of everyone there, the leopard print Armani I'd been saving up for all year. Then Khal came and we did IT in one of the spare rooms. He told me he loved me and there was no one else better. We'd get married when I graduated. I already have a dress in mind. The one I saw in the -   
  
Enya slammed the diary closed. Why was she *doing* this to herself? That had been two *years* ago. In which the cruel reality of the Night World hierarchy had slapped her in the face and left her stripped of everything.  
  
Enya put the diary away and locked it back in its box. There was no way she was going to this club opening with Illyria and her Night world crew. Not out of risk of it happening again.  
  
~Now I sound like an angst queen,~ she thought, picking up her text book again. All she needed to do was get her degree, get a job and die. A simple, easy life. An ordinary, every day job. She didn't particularly want to be anything sassy or special, just an ordinary person. What was wrong with that?  
  
Illyria was studying drama, she wanted to be a Hollywood superstar. Or so she said. Her friends Katrissa and Valaire were world-revolves-around-me drama students as well. She wasn't sure what the witch Amara was doing. And right now she wondered why she cared.  
  
~I *don't* care~ she thought. She didn't need people to get on with her life. She could cope on her own.  
  
Plenty of successful ordinary people were single. Not that she could name any at the moment, but that didn't - There was another knock on the dorm room door. ~Oh for God's sake,~ Enya thought. Illyria wasn't there to answer this time. With a sigh she stood up and went to answer, draw in a sharp breath at the guy casually leaning against the door.  
  
Not that big, kind of thin, with shoulder length black hair, creamy white skin, eyes the colour of storm clouds twinkling mischievously at her. "Hey babe, miss me?"  
  
"Fuck off. You're not welcome here." She started to shut the door, but before she could he pushed her to one side, heading in.  
  
* * * 


	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
Adrianna Kept her distance, following Khal, making sure he didn't know she was there - she wasn't ready. Not yet, anyway. Black River was the last place she would expect him to be - some small nameless town in mid-Texas? The only thing she knew about Texas was it was the setting for those crappy Chainsaw Massacre movies.  
  
But it was all kind of a moot point really, as Adrianna knew she would follow Khal to the ends of the earth. Why he had never accepted their soulmate connection was unknown to her. She was a lamia, so was he, that was all they needed.  
  
Apparently he showed no interest of any sort of commitment to her. The only time they had ever spent together was their first date, when the connection had been discovered, one night of heated passion and in the morning Khal was gone.   
  
That had been two years ago. Junior year of high school. Technically Adrianna could have gone to any college, anywhere. It wasn't like she was stupid. Her SAT score had been 1530, but Adrianna wasn't interested in education.  
  
All she wanted was her soulmate. Surely she wasn't the only one who had been put through something like this. After the connection had come, she had been absolutely certain they would be together, forever. How wrong she had been.  
  
Her friends tried to tell her to forget him - Adrianna could have any guy she wanted - which was true with her flawless, orchid pale skin, her gem like amber eyes and flowing ebony hair. Adrianna didn't want just *any* guy, she *wanted* the one who was her soulmate.  
  
Now here she was, two years later, still perusing him. She had a plan all worked out, she just needed to check out a few things first. Khal was heading into the university campus, pausing at one of the dorms, getting a room number. Adrianna didn't catch the name.  
  
The receptionist didn't even glance at her as she headed after Khal. Good, the less interruptions the better. Khal was knocking on a door on the second floor. The arrogant idiot didn't even seem to know he was being followed.   
  
Adrianna had to force herself not to curse out loud at the redhead who opened the door, clearly not pleased to see him. Khal went inside the room anyway, and the door closed behind him.  
  
"You're not exactly being very stealthy about following him, you know," a voice in her left ear chuckled.  
  
Adrianna scowled. "Shut up. What the hell does he think he's doing with *her*?"  
  
"Let's get out of here before you get caught, huh?"  
  
Adrianna sighed and resigned to letting her friend Isabelle Keller drag her away from the room to her own. Isabelle was supposed to be her inside informant, so far she hadn't come up with anything useful.  
  
  
  
She wondered what Isabelle had to do with Khal, but didn't ask at the moment. Isabelle was smart enough to know Khal was off limits. "Anything good for me?"  
  
"Well apparently he's shown up out of the blue to just 'check up on' Enya."  
  
Adrianna's scowl didn't lighten. "He's *through* with her. He *dumped* her. Two years ago."  
  
"After you destroyed her," Isabelle pointed out, sitting cross-legged on the bed.   
  
"Whatever. And?"  
  
"Enya's roommate, lamia Illyria Blackthorn has come together with some of her Night World friends, Katrissa Redfern and Amara Weald to cast a spell to find Enya's soulmate."  
  
Adrianna's nose wrinkled. She pitied the poor fool who got stuck with the stupid werewolf. "And how does that help *me* with Khal?"  
  
Isabelle smiled. "Once he realises he has no change, he'll either kill her, or just walk away. I don't think he's likely to just walk away, do you?"  
  
Adrianna had to admit, she didn't. Her own plan probably wouldn't be much use, considering this. But just in case, it was always handy of have some sort of back up in mind, just in case.  
  
Adrianna was even smiling, despite the fact that bitch Enya was still involved. One way or another, Enya would be dead, and Khal would be hers.  
  
* * * 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
"Any specific reason why you want this guy dead?"  
  
Enya couldn't make out the assassin's face. Whoever he was, he was very good at hiding himself. "Long story short, he's an asshole who deserves to be killed."  
  
Dry laugher, grating, almost like nails scraped across a blackboard. "I think I get it."  
  
Enya decided to let it go. She did *not* want Khal back in her life. She couldn't kill him herself. She'd had the opportunity last night. There was a stake stashed in her bedside table. All she'd needed to do was reach for it and plunge it into that cold black heart and good riddance to Khal Redfern.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she had demanded last night, forcing herself to keep calm. No need to be petty and open old wounds.   
  
"I was just in the neighbourhood," Khal said with that irritating smirk that he thought was sexy. "Thought I'd drop by."  
  
"Well you did. Now get *out*." Her voice was shaking with anger. So much for staying calm.  
  
"Humour me." He had reached out for her. Enya almost resisted, but eventually allowed herself to be pulled towards him.  
"So you *have* missed me." Khal's lips brushed against her ear as he spoke.  
  
Enya kneed him hard in the groin. She couldn't help a satisfied smirk as at his shocked cry, she'd hit him twice, and broken his nose. She had been about to go for the stake when Illyria had chosen that moment to come home.  
  
"Did I miss something?" She eyed Enya curiously.   
  
"It doesn't matter. He was just going." She'd shoved Khal out the door before he could say anything else and locked the door. She doubted he'd try to come back in. That wasn't to say he would *never* come back.  
  
Illyria, at least, was smart enough not to ask questions. She had handed Enya a small card. "If you're having trouble, call this number."  
  
"What is it?" she'd asked, taking the card.  
  
"Assassins for hire. They charge depending on the scenario."  
  
So Enya had called the number, and this was what she had got. "Think what you like," she told the guy. They had met in a movie theatre, easier to remain anonymous. They sat in the back row of a dark crowded room, pretending to pay attention to the story on the screen.  
  
She handed him a wad of money. "You'll get the rest when I know Khal is dead."  
  
"Fair enough." He slipped something into her picket, leaning over her deliberately to whisper, "My number, if anything goes wrong." Then he stood up and left.  
  
Enya let out a sigh of relief. She'd been saving up for a new car, but using it to get rid of Khal for good seemed more practical. To her, anyway.  
  
* * *  
  
Illyria was getting a little impatient. No new faces seemed to have come yet, and no one seemed to be hitting on Enya.   
  
The only new arrival had been that guy in the dorm room the other night. She had the impression Enya would have killed him if she hadn't interrupted. Enya simply refused to talk about it. Illyria hadn't even bothered to try and pursue it.  
  
Someone around here *had* to have known Enya in high school, she was from the town. Illyria herself was from New York, and had simply come because she liked the name of Black River. She had been kind of disappointed with the results, but decided to make do.  
  
She wanted to know who the guy was, who would have answers for her. She had given Enya the assassin's card, not knowing whether Enya could afford professional assassination or not.   
  
"I *said* I'm having my head shaved, do you think I should get a tattoo afterwards?"  
  
Illyria blinked, staring at Valaire as if she were insane. Valaire was of Harman decent on her father's side. She had been lucky enough to inherit the fine silvery blonde hair and violet eyes. "Are you out your *mind*?"  
Valaire laughed, closing her notebook. "No, just trying to get your attention."  
  
Illyria was embarrassed to realise the whole time she had been musing over Enya and whether or not the spell was going to work. She had missed half the lecture.  
  
"Oh. Where'd you go to high school?" she asked, gathering her own things.  
  
Valaire eyed her curiously. "Here. I grew up here. How come?"  
  
They left the lecture theatre. She was supposed to be meeting Katrissa in the coffee house, but was too curious. She wanted to know more about Enya. Maybe there was more to it than curiosity - *certainly* not her own spell backfiring. She was straight. All she wanted were some answers.  
  
"Did you know my roommate, Enya?"  
  
Valaire nodded. "Oh sure, everyone knew her. She was like, Ms. All That in junior year. Won Most Popular two years running. Then evening changed." Valaire shook her head.  
  
Illyria, despite herself, was intrigued. "What happened?"  
  
Valaire shrugged as they headed across campus. The October air was crisp, a weak ray of sun trying to poke its way through white clouds with little success. Students were already in coats and thick winter jumpers. (A/N: As I mentioned earlier I know nothing about Texas, just intrigued at the idea of setting a story there, I'm sure I read somewhere there are fall and winter seasons, there, correct me if I'm wrong and I'll adapt)  
  
Despite that, pleasant were milling around. ~There always will be~ Illyria thought.   
  
"She was daring this guy, Khal Redfern, someone found out Enya was a werewolf, tricked her into shifting in front of her friends, they freaked, and Khal dumped her in front of them all. Senior year she became a recluse. I'm surprised she came to college here, or didn't get in trouble with the Council."  
  
Illyria couldn't help feeling sorry for Enya. Werewolves really *did* get it in the neck, especially from Redferns, She noticed Lizette and Amara walking handing in hand across campus. Both waved at her and Valaire. Concrete evidence the soulmate spell did work.  
  
"Did you guys really do the soulmate spell for Enya?" Valaire asked.  
  
Illyria nodded. "She's so depressing. I thought it would be good for her." She frowned, remembering why she had wanted to ask in the first place. "Khal was in our room last night."  
  
Valaire looked at her in surprise. "How did she take it?"  
  
Illyria smiled a little. "She was kicking the shit out of him when I walked in."  
  
Valaire chuckled. "It's about time someone did that. I never thought it'd be her."  
  
Hopefully then, Enya *had* called the assassin. Khal would be taken care of, Enya would find her soulmate, and everything would wrap up nice and neatly. Providing, Illyria's inner voice couldn't seem to resist adding, nothing else went wrong.  
  
* * * 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
Khal was getting tired of people sneaking around his back. He hadn't bothered acknowledging Adrianna, considering the irritating bitch liked to drool over him, everywhere he went.  
  
And now a shadow was tailing him that wasn't his own. He chose to ignore it was well, for the time being, hoping it would take the hint and leave him alone. Maybe he was still angry over Enya's unexpected attack on him. His nose had healed since the incident, but the anger at her stupidity was still there.  
  
He still couldn't believe he had actually *fallen* for her. She was the one everyone admired, the perfect popular girl, beautiful, full of life and personality...only to turn out to be a werewolf. A measly, minging *puppy*. Bitch was the correct word to describe her in all its meanings.   
  
How could a Redfern such as himself suffer with a dog for no reason? Je was never all that satisfied with Adrianna, believing their soulmate thing to be a trick of some sort. Occasionally he checked up on his ex's, toying with them, simply for the hell of it. If he was through with them, that was it, their life was over.  
  
He opened the door to the hotel suite he was staying in, knowing immediately he wasn't alone. "This is getting boring already," he said, reaching for the bottle of champagne he'd left cooling in an ice bucked before heading out.   
  
"You should really think of improving security here," the shadow said with a deep chuckle.  
  
Khal frowned, recognising the voice of the only vampire he had ever made. He figured he'd been drunk or stoned at the time, he'd been around for two hundred years at that point, a wild experiment he had regretted ever since. "You're not a girl."  
  
Brandon laughed again, grating and irritating. "I wasn't the last time I looked."  
  
Khal ignored him and opened the champagne, pouring himself a glass. "Why have you been following me?"  
  
"I'm supposed to be killing you."  
  
Khal's eyes narrowed, looking around the darkened suite, trying to pinpoint Brandon's exact location. Brandon had an irritating habit of hiding himself well.  
  
"Enya hired you, didn't she?"  
  
"I'm not at liberty to say that." There was a subtle hint of smirk in Brandon's tone.  
  
"So why aren't you killing me?" Khal asked, opening the balcony doors. Not that there was really anything to look out on, he just happened to like balconies.   
  
"I thought I'd see what you were up to, first."  
  
Khal's eyes rolled as he lit a cigarette. He knew it was stupid to turn his back on a professional killer, but at a deeper level he knew tonight Brandon wouldn't kill him. "Not a lot."  
  
"You're what - two hundred and sixty, seventy? And *this* is what you do with yourself? Mind fuck with innocent puppies?"  
  
"Like you'd date a werebitch."  
  
Brandon didn't say anything; Khal didn't bother retorting. An idea crossed his mind. "What would you say if I offered you twice whatever she was paying you to kill me for you to kill her?"  
  
"I'd say there had to be some sort of catch somewhere."  
  
Khal's eyes rolled. He couldn't see what possible 'catch' there was. "If you're going to kill me, get it over with."   
  
"Not tonight." He heard a door close, and Brandon was gone.   
  
Khal sighed. Adrianna was still around, waiting for a love he'd never give her, and the puppy had hired an assassin, his only made vampire to hunt him down and kill him. What the hell else could go wrong?  
  
* * * 


	5. Part 5

Part 5  
  
Enya studied the card the assassin had given her, debating on whether or not it was too early to call and see if the deed was done. She stared at the report she was trying to write, but was too distracted. Illyria's irritating dance music wasn't helping.  
  
"What? You have an expression." Illyria looked up from the issue of *Glamour* magazine she was reading.   
  
How to explain this...  
  
"I'm expecting someone. Can you not be here in half an hour or so?"  
  
"Company?"  
  
Enya scowled with annoyance. After her biology class that morning her tutor had asked her if she wouldn't mind helping out a late starter to the course. After asking why her and not one of the TAs, she had been told because her work was excellent and a happy rush had made her agree. Now she was wondering if she regretted it.  
  
"It's only a study thing," she said hotly.  
  
"Whatever you say," Illyria said, reaching for her purse and shutting off her stereo. "Good luck."  
  
Enya ignored the smirk. As soon as Illyria was gone she had a quick shower, dried her hair and changed her outfit. She was considering on some makeup, then caught herself. This was only *some guy* just coming over to get some biology notes. That was *all*. She didn't want anything happening. That was what she told herself, anyway.  
  
  
  
Her notes were all ready all she needed to do was explain them and that was that.   
  
She drew in a sharp breath when she heard a knocking on the door. ~This is it~ she thought. Forcing a smile she answered. The guy who stood there was typically irritatingly gorgeous. Tall, blond haired and blue eyed, muscular, built like a high school football jock, dressed in a letterman jacket, jeans and an Oasis T-shirt.  
  
"Hi, I'm Morpheus Blackwood, I was told to meet with a Enya Keller about biology notes?"  
  
To Enya it still seemed like a high school scenario, the jock needed the nerd to help him pass. But she was careful not to say anything.  
  
"Um, yeah. I'm Enya," she said, then gestured. She was almost two years out of practice in this area. "Why don't you come in?"  
  
* * *  
  
Illyria had to force herself to stay calm as she headed over to the campus coffee house. Lizette and Amara were there snuggled together on the couch. A table of frat boys near by were drooling longingly over the two girls.  
  
Illyria ignored the leers and snide remarks as she joined her friends.   
  
"I thought you were staying in tonight." Lizette said, untangling herself from Amara.  
  
"I was," Illyria said, she grinned. "But it seems like our soulmate spell might be working after all."  
  
Lizette's dark eyes narrowed. "What soulmate spell?"  
  
Amara pulled her close. "We did the soulmate spell for Illyria's obnoxious roommate, who desperately needs a life."  
  
"Oh. And it's working?"  
  
Illyria grinned again. "She claims it's just a study date." Hopefully the little study date would turn into hot sex and a soulmate connection.  
  
* * *   
  
Morpheus sighed, wondering why he'd decided to bother with the whole study thing after all. Especially since studying was all the girl seemed to be interested in. It was kind of annoying.  
  
"I think I've got all the information I need now, thanks." He was also getting the impression she'd be much more comfortable when he was gone. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was extraordinarily beautiful. Her pale skin seemed to call to him - warm me, caresse me - yet whenever he got close to her, she always had an excuse to get away from him.  
  
"Um, okay, if you need anything else, you have my number." She smiled and showed him to the door, Morpheus went out, then sighed hugely.  
  
  
A girl with pink hair who looked like she belonged in some kick ass chick band was loitering near by. She was dressed in a tight red leather top showing off her large breasts, had tattoos all down her arms, short skirt showing off long legs. She was eying him curiously.  
  
"Can I help you?" Normally he did whatever he could to avoid this type of girl.   
  
"Perhaps," she said, her smile teasing. //You lamia? I heard Blackwood.//  
  
Morpheus smiled, hearing the telepathic voice in his head. Not many people recognised his family's name, normally he got confused with Blackthorn. //Yeah,// he answered. "Morpheus."  
  
"Isabelle. I have a proposition for you."  
  
* * * 


	6. Part 6

Part 6  
  
Illyria felt a rush of disappointment when she returned to her room to find Enya alone, reading a murder mystery novel. "What happened to your study date?" she asked.  
  
"It was nothing more than that. Guy came by, picked up some biology notes and left."  
  
"Too bad," Illyria tossed her purse in the general direction of her bed. She soon became aware of the heat of eyes on her. "What?"  
  
"Why are you suddenly so interested on whether or not I have a date?"  
  
Illyria cringed, if Enya knew about the spell, then it wouldn't work and all their effort would be a waste of time. "I'm just curious. Is that a crime?"  
  
Enya shrugged, turning back to her novel. "Maybe you should be less concerned about finding ad ate for me, and get one for yourself."  
  
Illyria didn't say anything. That had never crossed her mind, to do the spell for herself. She'd been so obsessed with making her depressing roommate less depressed, it had never occurred to her to find her own soulmate.  
  
"I have *plenty* of dates," she said hotly, cheeks flushing. "I'm just - Jesus, sue me for taking an interest!" She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She told herself she was okay just playing the field. She was too young to tie herself to one guy so soon.  
  
Yet, she saw Amara and Lizette around all the time, how in love they were. She had wanted that for her reclused rommie. Why hadn't she done it for herself? ~Maybe,~ she thought wistfully. ~Maybe.~  
  
* * *  
  
Enya was certain she was just being paranoid, she was hearing people whisper about her, giving her odd looks all over campus, particularly in her lectures the following morning. People usually ignored her.  
  
She occasionally got fleeting glances from boys who might be interested in her. Today there was nothing.   
  
Flashbacks were racing through her mind. It had been like this after people had discovered she was a werewolf. Technically, that was punishable by death, destruction of the town to prevent rumours of the Night World spreading. For some reason it hadn't happened.  
  
Illyria's friend Katrissa was in her biology class. Maybe she knew what was going on.  
  
"You haven't heard."  
  
"Obviously, or I wouldn't be asking, would I?"  
  
"Morpheus Blackwood is dead."  
  
Enya blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"Illyria said you had a study date with him last night."  
  
Enya felt her blood start to chill. "Yeah. He came by, got some class notes and left. That was all."  
  
"Really. Because apparently you were kicking the crap out of some guy who just *stopped* *by* the other night."  
  
Enya flushed. "There were major circumstances there." She looked around, seeing a small crowd starting to gather.  
  
Enya hurried back to her dorm room, just wanting to be alone away from prying, accusing eyes. Only to find an unwanted visitor there, poking through her wardrobe. "Can I help you?"  
  
The raven haired girl turned, a cruel smirk twisting her elegantly sculpted red lips. "You don't remember me, do you?"  
  
Enya frowned. "Should I?" The girl didn't seem familiar. Illyria had people running in and out of the room all the time, but as far as she was aware, she had never seen this girl before.  
  
The girl laughed, meant to be cold, but to Enya, it just sounded - tacky. She decided it was smart not to comment. "Who are you?" She paused, then got it. "You killed Morpheus."  
  
"You're smarter than I gave you credit for," the girl said.  
  
Enya eyed her, frowning again. "If you're one of Khal's girls, he's all yours. I've been through with him for quite some time."  
  
"You see he has this unhealthy obsessions with you, though god knows why. As soon as you kill yourself he'll forget about you."  
  
Enya blinked. "Kill myself."  
  
"If I killed you, that would be too obvious."  
  
Enya shook her head in disbelief, unable to believe what she was hearing. Who would be crazy enough to come up with such an insane idea?  
  
"So," the girl was going on. "I thought it would be more fun to do with whatever it took to make you destroy yourself." With a smile she turned and started to walk out the door.  
  
"Hey, you never told me your name," Enya called after her.  
  
"Angelina Dramanio. Remember that." And she was gone.  
  
Snickering, Enya went back into her room. Angelina Dramanio. Could you say fake name any quicker? So this girl had a crush on Khal or was one of his ex's or whatever. Enya wondered who she really was.  
  
She needed to find out before "Angelina" managed to attempt her next move.   
  
That was going to be fun.  
  
* * * 


	7. Part 7

Part 7  
  
Illyria had heard all the rumours that day, something to do with Morpheus Blackwood being dead and Enya being responsible. A strange girl had been hanging around a lot as well, she'd noticed. One of those metal chicks, blue hair, ripped jeans, ridiculously tight top, not too obscure.  
  
Lately she seemed to be there wherever Illyria turned.  
  
She didn't believe a word of the gossip herself. Why would Enya kill a guy who'd come to get a few class notes?  
  
"You were the one who said she was kicking the crap out of some guy who stopped by the other night," Katrissa pointed out.   
  
Illyria shrugged uncomfortably. She and her friends sat in the campus coffee house, trying to figure out what was happening. "He was an ex-boyfriend," she glanced to Valaire for some support.  
  
Valaire nodded. "Khal Redfern is in some definite need of a good ass kicking. Then again, Enya's known to have a disliking for jocks and frat boys."  
  
"I guess the spell is just taking a little longer than we thought," Amara said, sounding disappointed as she took a small sip of her latte.   
  
"It's only been a few days," Katrissa pointed out. "Someone'll come - if he doesn't end up dead before the whole thing gets in place." Her lip was curled cruelly.  
  
Illyria didn't say anything. Enya had struck her as cold and distant, and there were reasons for it. She didn't want to think of the possibility that Katrissa might be right. Enya needed a soulmate to tell her love was a good thing, then would come out of her shell. Another werewolf would be ideal, but they couldn't guarantee that.  
  
"Who's *she*?" she asked in a low voice, nodding towards the blue haired girl at the counter.  
  
Amara's nose wrinkled in distaste. "I've seen her around a lot too."  
  
Valaire's head was tilted to one side. "That's Isabelle Keller. She used to go to high school here with me and Enya." She was the so-called freak. She's a shifter. She's Enya's sister."  
  
That still didn't explain why she was hanging around them. "Oh." She hung around for a while, waiting for the others to finish their drinks, finding herself getting bored of listening to theories on why Enya might kill Morpheus.  
  
The only way to find out about this, was probably to *ask* Enya. She excused herself and went back to her dorm room. Enya was already there, sitting at her desk. Soft jazz music was coming from her stereo system, her lap top computer was open on the desk.   
  
"You've heard," Enya said, before Illyria had the chance to say anything. Illyria closed the door.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You think I did it?"  
  
"I don't know what to think."  
  
"That makes me feel so much better."  
  
Illyria frowned, confused at Enya's tone. There was no hint of bitterness or anger, no resentment, if anything, she sounded amused.  
  
"Am I missing something here?"  
  
"Does the name Angelina Dramanio mean anything to you?" Enya hadn't even looked up from her computer screen.  
  
Illyria shook her head, sitting at her own desk. "No. Why?"  
  
"She was here earlier. Ask Valaire, maybe she'll recognise the name. Claims she's one of Khal's girls, and she's pissed because she thinks Khal's obsessed with me. She wants me to kill myself. Step one to driving me insane was killing Morpheus."  
  
Illyria didn't know what to make of any of this. "And this is funny, why?"  
  
Enya snorted. "Do you not see how ridiculous the whole thing sounds?"  
  
Illyria shrugged. "Again, I don't know what to think. Maybe you should be more careful."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Illyria was surprised Enya was taking this so well. If some strange girl was hanging around, threatening to destroy *her* into suicide, she'd be freaking. ~It's nothing to do with you~ she told herself. ~It's her problem let her handle it. It's not like you're friends or anything.~  
  
Illyria tried to distract herself with a paper of her own. She couldn't deny the spark of worry inside her.  
  
* * * 


	8. Part 8

Part 8  
  
Adrianna paced around in Isabelle's room, trying to figure out their next move. She could have gone to get the guy herself, but couldn't afford to be seen, not yet, anyway.   
  
The idiot who'd decided to come to Enya's for study help was to easy. "So what's the word on campus?" she asked as Isabelle came in.  
  
Isabelle stared at her for several seconds, almost as if she wasn't sure who Adrianna was. "I thought you were coming later."  
  
Adrianna smiled, enjoying the shifter's nervousness. "I couldn't wait. Security in this place is terrible."  
  
Isabelle snorted. "Gee, forgive the humans for not thinking to protect the place against vampires."  
  
Adrianna smiled briefly. "So we've passed stage one, now we need to come up with a plan for stage two." She sat on the chair, looking at Isabelle, who had yet to answer her first question.  
  
How was she supposed to watch Enya's self destruction if no one else thought she was a psycho killer? She'd made the little bitch angry enough to actually shift her shape in front of her friends once. Destroyed her completely. Well, almost. She was still alive and that was an issue that needed to be dealt with right away.  
  
"So far your plan is working," Isabelle said, switching on the stereo.  
  
Adrianna brightened. "Well that's something. They think she did it?"  
  
Isabelle nodded, leaning against the desk, toying with a pencil. "There are rumours. There's something else as well."  
  
Adrianna frowned. She hadn't anticipated for something else happening. Her eyes rolled. She should have figured. "What?"  
  
"Some people, her roommate and a few of her friends have cast some sort of spell," Isabelle said, putting the pencil down and starting to pace in the impossibly small room.  
  
"What sort of spell?" Adrianna knew next to nothing about magic, and as far as she knew, neither did Isabelle. "Night World witches or those idiot Wicca wannabes messing with magic they don't understand?"  
  
Isabelle shrugged. "Night World witches, I think. They said something about soulmates."  
  
"Oh, yeah, you already mentioned that one to me," Adrianna said. She groaned, wishing Isabelle's single room was big enough for her to pace around in as well. Actually, she thought, maybe she could make the soulmate spell work to her advantage, if they could work out who the spell had called. "Has the spell worked yet?"  
  
"I don't think so," Isabelle answered.  
  
Adrianna cursed. Damn, this was irritating. All she wanted was her own soulmate to like her. He was the one guy meant to be perfect for her, and he didn't want her, what did that *say*?   
  
She shook her head, scowling. Philosophy was *not* her thing. She wanted Khal, and she would have him. That was simple enough. And if it meant destroying the girl he wanted - again - then that was what she had to do.  
  
"You know, she hates him, she's probably more than willing to let you have him," Isabelle said.  
  
Adrianna shook her head. "I *know* that. But for some reason he can't seem to let go. Khal and I are *soulmates*, we should be together." She just didn't understand why it wasn't working, most soulmate couples stayed together.  
  
"Let's say you get rid of Khal's obsession, and make him see you're meant for each other after all, most couples who do that usually wind up swanning off to Circle Daybreak."  
  
"Fine, great, whatever. Anything as long as I get my soulmate." Adrianna stopped, shocked at herself, what she had been reduced to. She sighed, trying to get away from that train of thought. Not *all* soulmate couples had to turn Daybreak. "Okay, here's the plan. Find out what you can about Enya's roommate and her friends. Secrets, preferably bad ones we can exploit." She stood up, taking a break. "Not brilliant, I know, but we'll see how that works out and go from there."  
  
* * * 


	9. Part 9

Part 9  
  
Isabelle was beginning to wonder why she was agreeing to this insane plan of Adrianna's. Right now she almost wanted to kill Khal herself. On the one hand, she was prepared to say to hell with it and let Adrianna continue on her own. On the other hand, it was almost worth it to see Enya destroy herself.  
  
It had never been easy having a sister who was perfect. She never seemed to be able to find her own identity. All she had ever seemed to get was "Why can't you be more like Enya?" It just wasn't fair.  
  
And she had a Redfern vampire all over her. Totally unfair.   
  
She had been willing to help Adrianna in the first place, second time round she was wondering if it was getting tedious. Illyria and her friends were hardly going to be willing to let her play with their deepest secrets and pass it off as Enya's fault for using them.  
  
Even as she sat alone at the coffee house, she knew they were sneering at her. She sighed, biting into a large cookie, wondering how the hell she was going to do this.   
  
Illyria was leaving; she was out. She seemed to be sticking up for Enya, anyhow. Not surprising, really, considering they were roommates. Amara seemed convinced their spell would work. Valaire, who she recalled as Enya's best friend from high school was neutral and didn't seem to care one way or the other. Katrissa was convinced Enya was a killer.  
  
Katrissa might be of some use.   
  
This soulmate spell wasn't helping. How could they possibly tell who this would be? She sighed, ordering another coffee. This plan of Adrianna's wasn't working in the slightest. She drained her coffee cup, deciding on a temporary solution to the issue.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute."   
  
She stopped, looking around, Katrissa was signalling to her. Isabelle stopped, waiting. "Yeah?"  
  
Amara and Valaire ad left as well.  
  
"You're Enya's sister, right?"  
  
Isabelle made a face and nodded. "So?"  
  
"Let's talk. Not here."  
  
Isabelle followed Katrissa back to her room. She managed to get rid of her roommate and turned to face Isabelle, sitting on her bed. "You think she killed Morpheus?"  
  
Isabelle shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past her. Why?"  
  
Katrissa sighed. "She's a loser, and this whole soulmate spell idea of Illyria's is a waste of time. I don't see the need for all the bother."  
  
Isabelle wondered where Katrissa was going with all of this.  
"My cousin Adrianna has a grudge against Enya, I've seen you talking with her. Whatever you plan is, I want in."  
  
Isabelle hadn't been expecting that. As she thought about it, having an insider in Illyria's group would probably work to their advantage at some point. "Adrianna's plan at the moment is to drive Enya insane, eventually making her kill herself."  
  
Katrissa laughed. "I haven't heard that one before. How are we going to do that?"  
  
Isabelle decided not to mention Katrissa's involvement to Adrianna. She didn't recall Adrianna ever mentioning she had a cousin before, and didn't know anything about Katrissa, or why she *really* wanted in on this. Her statement could be true enough, there might always be more to it. So all the same, it might be an idea to keep this one to themselves.  
  
"Well Adrianna wants me to find nasty secrets and exploit them, making them think it's Enya messing with them."  
  
Katrissa nodded. "Okay, and how do you plan to actually *get* the secrets?"  
  
"You know any?"  
  
Katrissa's lip curled. "One or two."  
  
Isabelle glanced out the window. "I was thinking of having someone date Illyria and dig up info on her. Is Valaire seeing anyone?"  
  
Katrissa shook her head. "Not that I know of. That could actually work, I've got a couple of male friends who've been trying to get me to hook them up with some hot girls." She smiled again. "Leave it to me."  
  
Isabelle glanced back at Katrissa. Could she trust this girl? There was still the problem of getting Khal to admit his soulmate connection with Adrianna. As far as she was concerned, Adrianna could deal with that one herself.   
  
"Okay, this is my number." She scribbled her room extension and her cell phone number on a piece of paper. "One more thing, just don't mention any of this to Adrianna."  
  
* * * 


	10. Part 10

Part 10  
  
Judas listened as he sat in the student bar, as Katrissa Redfern explained her plan to him. He shook his head, not really understanding the need for it all. "So you want me to kill Illyria Blackthorn, then and make it look like her roommate is responsible."  
  
"Yes," Katrissa snapped, seeming quite annoyed, and a little too impatient for his liking. "Keep it down." She cast a nervous glance around.  
  
Well that was her own fault, Judas thought. If she had wanted to discuss Night World business, then wouldn't it have made a little more sense to discuss the plan somewhere more private, or even that new Black Iris would have been better than the student bar.  
  
"Why don't we go somewhere else?" he suggested, deliberately leaning close and whispering into her ear.  
  
Katrissa was smiling at the feel of him so close. "Sure."  
  
They could have been any normal couple leaving a bar anywhere in the world. No one would even think they were going to plot the murder of an innocent vampire. Then Judas found himself smirking at his own choice of words. Kind of an under statement, really. There was no such thing as an innocent vampire.  
  
"So what's Illyria done, anyway?" he asked as the walked across campus back to Katrissa's dorm.  
  
"Nothing," Katrissa said with a smirk. "You were supposed to seduce her and fake a soulmate connection, but that's boring, this is more fun."  
  
Judas didn't even know if it was possible to fake a soulmate connection, and the whole idea of it was ridiculous to him. On the whole, he'd rather just stay the hell away from the idea of soulmates. It made him shudder.  
  
"Yeah, sounds more like it," he agreed absently. They paused on the steps to her dorm building. This wasn't anymore private than the student bar.   
  
"The whole point of it is to drive Illyria's roommate insane. She did something to my cousin Adrianna, and she has to pay for it." Katrissa's voice was full of bitter hatred.  
  
Judas found he wasn't all that surprised. He'd heard similar things, hell, he'd even *done* similar things. He wasn't going to pass on the opportunity just because this was something he had done before. It'd keep him busy for a while, if nothing else.  
  
"Fine, but I do charge for my services," he smiled, showing his teeth. A girl going past them shuddered and hurried inside.   
  
Katrissa made a face. "I can pay you in other ways," she offered, shaking her hair away from her shoulders.  
  
Judas looked down her low cut top at the nice amount of cleavage he could see there. Then shook his head. "No, if you want her dead, I charge, like any other assassin would."  
  
"Fine," she hissed with annoyance. "Make it cheap." He whispered an amount in her ear. He grabbed the hand she had placed on his chest, sure she would have ripped his heart out if she had had the chance. "You'd better be fucking worth it," she muttered.  
  
He chuckled. "I am, trust me on that one."  
  
"All right, we'll discuss payment arrangements later." She turned to go inside   
  
"You don't want me to come?" he offered with a grin.   
  
Katrissa stared at him, then shrugged. "Why not?" They both went inside and up to her room.  
  
* * *  
  
Well that was interesting to say the east. Lizette had been on her way to meet a friend in Katrissa's dorm, and had stopped in surprise when she had seen Katrissa with the formidable Judas Darkstorm, a tall, thin and frightening vampire with cold silver eyes that glittered in the dark, almost demonically. She had made sure she was well hidden as she listened to their conversation. Would Illyria believe her? She knew that Illyria actually had a *thing* for Judas.  
  
Oh, this was a nasty problem.  
  
* * * 


	11. Part 11

Part 11  
  
Brandon checked his watch again, unsurprised to see that it was only five minutes since he had last looked. ~Damn you Khal, hurry up and get home~ he thought. He'd spent over two hours waiting in the hotel suite for Khal to get there so he could finish his job.  
  
He was sick of waiting. After his first encounter, he'd laid low for a few days, particularly since one body had already turned up. And to make it worse, it was a vampire corpse.   
  
He should be able to dispose of Khal without much bother. No one knew who Khal was, therefore no one would miss him. And from the few people he'd seen from the town who knew Khal, girls, mostly, they seemed to think he deserved to get his ass kicked.   
  
At least it was a quick job, or would be if Khal ever got *home*. If he left and came back later, he'd probably miss his opportunity. He should have just shot the bastard the first time round. He couldn't afford any more fuck ups.   
  
He heard the sound of a key in the door. Brandon even found himself smiling as he reached for his stake, moving to the side of he door. But it wasn't Khal who came through.  
  
* * *  
  
Full of blood and feeling kind of gluttonous, Khal was in a very good mood when he returned to his hotel suite. He'd been planning on sticking around town for a while, screwing with Enya a little more. The bitch had the nerve to hire an assassin after him, and worse, a vampire he'd made himself. In one respect, it was almost funny, but in another way, it was still annoying.   
  
He fumbled for his swipe card, pausing, surprised to see the door slightly ajar. He was positive he'd locked the damn thing. Or shut it and the thing had locked itself. Unless one of the staff had been inside and not closed the door properly.  
  
~Idiot vermin~ he thought, eyes rolling in disgust as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.   
  
He was almost blinded by the sudden shock glow from the light of over a hundred candles placed around the room. He saw something hideous and mummy-like by the side of the door when he finally closed it.  
  
"He was going to kill you. I made sure he wouldn't." The husky female voice managed to be coy and proud at the same time.   
  
Khal's good mood was spoiled. He turned around, not enticed at all by the naked woman lying on his bed, claw-like red nails beckoning him to come forward. "One measly assassin I could have handled," he said, bored. "Get dressed and get out."  
  
Adrianna smiled kittenishly, running a finger down her smooth, oiled flesh. "Are you sure about that?"  
  
Some sickly scent assaulted Khal's nose, making him feel almost ill. He didn't know what it was, and sure as hell wasn't going to ask. "Yes, sure, what part of 'fuck off' don't you understand?"  
  
Adrianna sighed angrily, standing up and placing her hands on her hips while her raven hair rippled loose behind her. "You are such an asshole! *Why* can't we be together? We're *soulmates*!"  
  
Khal's eyes closed. ~Oh God, here we go~ he thought. He could always kill her, he mused. It wasn't like that would be a problem for him. He should have done that ages ago. Then again, with his twisted sense of humour, he found extremely amusing to see the lengths she would go to, just to try and get his attention.  
  
Naked and candles weren't going to do it for her. He could get hundreds of girls that way if he wanted. Opening his eyes again, he was slightly pleased to see that she had started to get dressed.  
  
"Because the concept of soulmates is absurd," he told her bluntly. "Two complete strangers are supposed to fall in love and get along cause some mystic thing no one comprehends says they're destined for each other?" He snorted in contempt. He moved over a small candelabra, and with a tiny push of power blew it out. The rest of the candles snuffed out, and the electric lights came on again.   
  
Adrianna finished dressing and looked at him. "I'm not saying we have to dance and sing and join Circle Daybreak. Why - why can't you even give me a *chance?*"  
  
Adrianna's voice was getting higher and higher. If she went on this way, she was going to break a glass.  
"If you hadn't acted so sickeningly *thrilled* like those dopey Daybreakers, then maybe." He smiled cruelly. "Now get the hell out - unless you want to join *him*." He nodded at the corpse on the floor.  
  
Adrianna scowled. "This isn't over. It's that Enya bitch, isn't it?"  
  
Khal almost laughed. Adrianna actually thought he wanted *Enya?* "What would you do if I said she's everything you're not."  
  
Adrianna was appalled. "But she's a *werewolf*! You dumped her for that very reason!"  
  
Khal shrugged. "Yeah, I changed my mind now. It won't belong before she's mine again."  
  
Adrianna shook her head. "Wait until *I'm* through with that bitch." She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.  
  
After gathering the candles and dumping them in the trashcan, Khal switched on the TV, chuckling to himself, unable to believe Adrianna had actually taken the bait. He almost couldn't wait to see what she was going to do.   
  
* * * 


	12. Part 12

Part 12  
  
"So Katrissa's teamed up with Isabelle, who's working with Adrianna Blackthorn who have hired Judas Darkstorm to do something to Illyria, while Adrianna is planning on driving Enya insane because she wants Enya's ex-boyfriend Khal, who she claims is her soulmate. On top of that, Enya has hired an assassin to get rid of Khal. And our soulmate spell isn't working."  
  
Lizette nodded, sitting in Valaire's room the following evening, not really sure what to do now. She needed to tell someone, and couldn't find Amara. She didn't know if she should tell Enya. Illyria was unlikely to believe them because of her weird crush on Judas.   
  
Though what exactly Katrissa and Judas were doing, she had missed. All she had heard was it involved Illyria.  
  
"And to think all we wanted to do was help Illyria's depressed roomie get a life," Valaire said with a sigh, shaking her head. "Now we're stuck with three nutty sub plots."  
  
Lizette smiled faintly. She didn't really have much of a part in this and had something almost like a *need* to help. "We need a counter plan. To do something about Katrissa, at least."  
  
The door opened and a tall thin redhead came in. "You yelled, I came," she said, closing the door. She was looking at Valaire. "I don't know how, cause you're a witch."  
  
Lizette didn't understand either. She was guessing the redhead must be Enya.  
  
Valaire shrugged. "I've managed to develop telepathic powers, there's a vampire somewhere in my family tree, and I've focused some of my magic on that ability. Anyway, what's happened now?" The question was mainly directed at Enya.  
  
"My assassin is dead," Enya said moodily. "And as I left the dorm room the lights went out in our block, and some creepy guy went in our room, and it looked like he was about to get fresh with Illyria."  
  
"Oh God," Valaire's eyes rolled.  
  
Enya looked at them blankly. Lizette gave her the short version of what she had just told Valaire. Enya just shrugged. "I don't get what he has to do with this."  
  
Neither did Lizette, then, thinking about Enya's new information, she got it. "I really think we need to get over there. Now."  
  
Enya just shrugged. "Why, I still don't - Oh. Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
So far nothing else had happened. No one new had turned up, no one else was dead, Khal hadn't made an appearance and Enya still didn't have a soulmate. Which to Illyria was partly good, but partly annoying as well.  
  
Amara constantly insisted that the spell would work. Enya was still her usual bitchy repressed self. And this Angelina Dramanio person hadn't made any more appearances either.  
  
Not being about to find anyone she knew that night, Illyria stayed in, deciding she might as well try and get some work done. But her mind kept drifting. She sat at her desk, pencil in hand, not knowing which book to read first. Her eyes closed. She was starting to wonder if the soulmate spell was really a good idea after all.  
  
The hopeful potential had wound up dead, and with an insane enemy on the loose, things weren't really looking up.   
  
As if to tell her she was thinking along the right lines the lights went out at that moment, plunging her into darkness. "Crap," she muttered, standing up and opening her eyes. With her vampire vision she should be able to see in the darkness with no problems.  
  
For some reason, she couldn't hardly see anything no matter how hard she strained. Hands out in front of her, Illyria made her way across the room to the door. Peering out into the hallway she could see there were no lights there either. She could see figures, but they kept going out of focus. She went back in her room, shaking her head in confusion. What the hell was going on?  
  
/Valaire?/ she tried calling telepathically. But Valaire was a witch; she shouldn't be able to answer with a mental voice. Illyria couldn't remember if she had one or not. Oh, this was so confusing.   
  
Illyria froze, an unmistakeable dark presence hovered around the room. Something she was certain that if she could think clearly, then she'd know who it was. "Who's there?" she demanded. She was angry at the shakiness in her voice. This wasn't *like* her.  
  
Someone was using magic on her. That had to be the answer. Why would anyone want to do that? Unless this was that crazy Angelina person trying to screw her up or something.   
  
Strong hands clamped down on Illyria's bare shoulders, pinning them to her side. She tried to scream, but couldn't get a sound out.  
  
At the same time the strong, cold hands touch her, the world as she knew it exploded in a bizarre white light.  
  
^Oh shit^ she thought vaguely.  
  
* * * 


	13. Part 13

Part 13  
  
Illyria wanted to scram, but she couldn't get the sound out. Her mind was a mad whirl of pink haziness. She couldn't believe it. She struggled out of the hands that held her, throwing the figure across the room.  
  
He cried out as he hit Enya's bed. "Christ, what the hell is wrong with you?"  
  
Illyria's vision had gone back to normal, her mind was semi clear. The lights had come back on. "Judas? It's you?" She shook her head in utter bewilderment. This was not supposed to be *happening!*  
  
Judas dragged himself up, glaring at her. "You did something to me."  
  
Illyria's eyes rolled. "Let's just cut all the shock, and mind link with all the white light crap, okay? We're soulmates. This was *not* part of the plan."  
  
"Tell me about it. I thought you wanted the soulmate for your stupid puppy friend," Judas had stopped glaring. His arms had folded across his thin chest.  
  
Any other time Illyria would have been dancing around the room with glee that Judas Darkstorm was her soulmate. The man she had a crush on was the one she was meant to be with forever. How often did that happen? You were usually stuck with some loser you'd never look at twice, a human, or your worst enemy.  
  
At least she could give him credit for not having a hissy fit and making a fuss about the whole soulmate thing, he was taking it very well, and hadn't really said whether he was pleased or not. Illyria wondered if maybe she should be insulted.   
  
"How did you know about the spell for Enya?" she asked.   
  
Judas shrugged. "Actually, I came here to kill you."  
  
Illyria stared ay him. At least he didn't waste time and dance around with words. He got straight to the point. "Since when?"  
  
"Something to do with your friend Katrissa and her cousin Adrianna Something."  
  
Illyria wasn't all that surprised Katrissa had turned against them, to tell the truth. Katrissa had been against the whole spell from the beginning. She was more than a little pissed off that Katrissa had actually hired someone to *kill* her.  
  
"This is all a little confusing."  
  
"So, we're soulmates, huh?" Judas looked around the room, examining one of Enya's mystery books, poking around a few of her things. Illyria smiled faintly. This guy really was unbelievable.   
  
"We got past that. Are you going to kill me or not?" She waited for his response, feeling a lump rising in her throat. The assassin and victim soulmate paring wasn't exactly a new story. Was it at least enough to keep him from killing her?  
  
"Katrissa and Adrianna and Isabelle aren't going to be happy with me, but it's not really my problem." Judas sat on Enya's bed. "So who did turn out to be Enya's soulmate then?"  
Illyria breathed a sigh of relief as she sat on her own bed, facing him. Maybe Judas wasn't as bad as his reputation made him out to be. Or maybe it was just because of this soulmate thing. Whatever. At least he appeared to be on her side.   
  
"We don't know yet. The potential wound up dead. What'd you know? Tell me what Katrissa told you."  
  
So he did. Illyria remembered Enya mentioning some girl with a stupid name of Angelina something. She was guessing Angelina was Adrianna Blackthorn. She also remembered Isabelle, Enya's sister hanging around the coffee shop, watching Illyria and her friends.  
  
From what it seemed like to her Enya had been impossibly popular when she was a junior in high school, when she had been dating Khal Redfern t, then Adrianna had discovered a soulmate connection with Khal, who refused to accept it. Angry and jealous Adrianna had exposed Enya as a werewolf, Khal dumped her and she lost her popularity.  
  
Isabelle, the younger sister must have been jealous of Enya's status so had teamed up with Adrianna. Enya became a nobody and stayed that way even in college. Feeling sorry for her Illyria and some of her friends had decided to cast a spell finding Enya a soulmate to cheer her up.  
  
Khal had shown up to see Enya, which she was not happy about, and hired an assassin to get him. Meanwhile Adrianna must have seen Khal with Enya and assumed they were back together. Enya had had a study date with a guy, who afterwards had turned up dead. Adrianna had shown up in Enya's room announcing she was going to drive Enya insane and make her kill herself.  
  
Somewhere along the lines Katrissa had become involved with Isabelle because she didn't like Illyria's spell idea and had got Judas to try and kill her. Only Judas hadn't cause they had turned out to be soulmates.  
  
"So now what do we do?" Illyria said.  
  
Judas shrugged. "Not my problem. This is all too nutty for me. By the way, you can tell your roomie her assassin has been killed." He stood up. "See you round." And he left, just like that.  
  
Illyria was at a loss for words, even when Valaire, Lizette and Enya came in. She just shrugged helplessly. "This is a disaster," she complained.  
  
"What happened?" Lizette asked.   
  
Illyria sighed. "Judas is my soulmate."  
  
Valaire blinked. "How'd that happen?"  
  
Illyria shook her head. "I don't know, it just did."  
  
"Who's Judas?" Enya asked.  
  
Illyria shook her head. "Don't go there," she answered. "I guess the spell backfired."  
  
Enya's eyebrow rose. "What spell?"  
  
Illyria sighed again, and told her everything. Enya's expression barely changed except for a roll of her eyes.  
  
"We still have to figure out what to do about Adrianna, Isabelle and Katrissa," Lizette pointed out.  
  
"How?" Valaire asked. "But no more magic. It doesn't seem to go right."  
  
Illyria had to admit she had a point, and Lizette did as well. They needed to resolve this thing.  
  
"I have an idea," Lizette offered.  
  
* * * 


	14. Part 14

Part 14  
  
Adrianna wasn't at all thrilled with the idea of letting Katrissa in on their plan. She was more than a little distrustful of her cousin. Spies just made her uncomfortable anyway. They tended to be corrupted very easily, and you could never really tell just whose side they were on.  
  
"What possessed you to let her I, anyway?" she complained, taking a sip from her blood-laced cocktail. She had met Isabelle in the new Black Iris, which seemed to have been a complete waste of time. The place was devoid of people. Why waste all the effort of building on in such a small area, anyway?  
  
Isabelle shrugged, tugging on the straw in her own cocktail glass. "I thought she could be useful."  
  
Adrianna's eyes rolled. Her plan had started off going well. She'd set the bowl of suspicion rolling on Enya. There were still whispers that she had killed Morpheus. The irritating thing was it didn't seem to be having *any* effect on Enya. And it looked like the secrets exploiting thing was going nowhere. Now there was this thing with Katrissa and she was no closer to making Khal hers.  
  
"Well *that* was a total waste of fucking time." Katrissa slammed herself into a chair next to Isabelle's.  
  
Adrianna's teeth clenched together. "So your plan didn't work."  
  
"It should have worked," Katrissa grumbled, ordering a beer. "Only it turned out - "  
  
"The Soulmate Connection got in the way?" Isabelle said with a smirk.  
  
Katrissa scowled. "Judas Darkstorm was supposed to kill Illyria. She's the best bet for absolute blame on Enya." Her eyes rolled as she swigged her beer.   
  
"She has a *huge* crush on him," Isabelle said, grinning, "That should have been so *obvious*."  
  
Katrissa glowered at her. "I don't see *you* coming up with any better plans, and whatever happened to this bit being just between us?"  
  
Isabelle shrugged. "It just slipped out. Besides, everything always seems like a good idea at the time."  
  
Adrianna turned out Katrissa and Isabelle's arguing, wondering why she'd bothered with Isabelle in the first place. She'd thought being Enya's sister, Isabelle would be able to help her. But she hadn't told her anything she couldn't have found out on her own. And as much as she hated to admit it, Isabelle did have a point.  
  
At least on her part, filled with revenge fantasies gave her a decent perspective to start thinking what to do next. Come to think of it, she already knew what she was going to do next, anyway. Her ideas may not be the most efficient thought out plans, she was persistent and refused to quit. She usually got what she wanted.  
  
"Knock it off you're both as useless as each other," she snapped. She'd had enough of Isabelle and Katrissa. She stood up, a smirk covering her face.  
  
"What's up with you?" Isabelle asked, frowning.  
  
Katrissa's eyebrow arched. "New plan?"  
  
"For me." She tossed a ten dollar bill on the bar for her two drinks. She had been planning on getting drunk that night, and was a pathetic lightweight when it came to booze, two drinks was all it usually took. But tonight she was actually sober and walking straight, and able to think as well.  
  
She was about to leave when a girl she'd never seen stopped her at the entrance. The girl was tall and thin, dressed in tight red trousers and a silver shirt. Black hair was cut in a sharp bob just above her shoulders. Adrianna frowned, eyeing her.  
  
"Adrianna Blackthorn?"  
  
"Yeah. Who are you?"  
  
"Doesn't matter," the girl answered, handing her a piece of paper. "I was asked to give you this." The girl turned and left.   
  
Adrianna frowned, reading the note. She wasn't sure what to make of the message. A note delivered by a girl she'd never met? But the note was the break she'd been waiting for. This was what she had wanted all along. Which meant her plan could be pushed aside for the time being. Then again, she thought with a smile, even if she did have want she wanted now, she might just go through with the new plan for the hell of it.  
  
* * *  
  
Valaire caught Cindy's arm as she came out the Black Iris. "Did she buy it?"  
  
Cindy nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Valaire smiled. "Thanks."  
  
Cindy shrugged. "No problem. What's all this about, anyway?"  
  
Valaire's eyes rolled. "Don't ask."  
  
Cindy nodded and left. Valaire headed back to her car where Lizette was waiting for her.  
  
"Everything went okay?"  
  
"As long as Enya does her part everything will be fine."  
  
"We hope," Lizette muttered.  
  
* * * 


	15. Part 15

Part 15  
  
Enya didn't quite understand how any of this plan of Lizette's was going to work. Khal was the last person she wanted to be alone with. She was more than a little pissed off that Brandon had been killed. She'd trusted him to deal with Khal, and paid him a hell of a lot of money that was only half his price, and then the bastard had gotten killed.  
  
She didn't know how she was supposed to feel about this whole soulmate spell. That would explain why Illyria was suddenly so interested when Morpheus had shown up. She was also guessing Adrianna must have found out, which was why he had been killed. She wasn't surprised that her sister had teamed up with Adrianna  
  
Even after she'd lost everything, that apparently wasn't enough to satisfy Isabelle. What would it take to get it into Adrianna's head that she despised Khal, she could *have* him. Adrianna was so clouded by anger and jealousy she wouldn't listen to anyone, even if that person was willing to give her what she wanted. Unless that person was Khal.  
  
Enya sat alone in her car in the parking lot of the hotel he was staying at trying to avoid goin to see him. Unfortunately, Valaire and Lizette were counting on her to get Khal's attention.  
  
She'd told Illyria not to bother helping. She'd had enough of Illyria's help. So she sat scowling at the rows of empty cars opposite her. It was bad enough that her roommate and her friends had done a *magic* spell to find her a soulmate, and then to top it all off, Illyria had gotten the fucking soulmate. None of this was fair.  
  
Sighing heavily, Enya got out the car, deciding to get the whole thing over and done with. She hadn't bothered dressing up for the occasion. She simply wore a black shirt and black jeans, her long red hair loose to her shoulders.  
  
She stared up at the hotel entrance, almost as if she were entering the Gates of Hell.  
She might as well have been. Her mind was flooded with images of the lobby turning into pits of tar and fires burning, foul smells making her guts wretch. The guests were Satan's minions, goblins and demons laughing manically at her. Twisted paths of broken road were leading her up to Khal's suite.  
  
Enya was breathing heavily by the time she reached his room. She tried to tell herself to think of how much she hated the piece of shit, but it obviously wasn't working.  
  
She paused, forcing herself to calm down. The plan would never work if she were a wreck.  
  
She waited until her breathing was normal and her visions of hell had gone. The hotel was just a normal, upper class hotel with dull beige carpet and ordinary cream wallpaper.   
  
Taking a deep breath Enya knocked on the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Khal was kind of disappointed Adrianna hadn't done anything yet. It normally didn't take her this long to get going with one of her stupid plans. He couldn't understand why the idiot wouldn't just *take* the fucking hint.  
  
He'd have thought she'd enjoy playing the field. She was attractive enough, could be smart when she wanted to be, not great in bed, but could improve with practice. Not the type of girl he wanted t be tied down to, the type of girl to have fun with for a few weeks, then move on.  
  
Khal lay on sprawled on the king size bed in his suite, an adult movie on one of the pay per view channels. He glanced at the half dead maid he had dropped on the couch, debating on finishing her off when he heard a knock on the door.  
  
He frowned, sure he'd left the 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on. Who the hell would be visiting him.   
  
Opening the door Khal's eyes widened in surprise, and a smirk plastered itself across his arrogant face. "Enya, what a pleasant surprise." He held the door open just enough for her to come in.  
  
"We need to talk." Her tone was nervous, and she couldn't quite bring herself to meet his eyes.  
  
"Come on, out with it, you can't live without me, I see right through your defence." He slipped his arm around her shoulders. Who knew, he might find it fun, having a werewolf for a pet. It couldn't be harder than a regular dog, they just had to be fed and exercised.   
  
Enya smiled faintly. "Look, there's something I need to show you."  
  
Khal eyed the buttons on her shirt, reaching out and undoing the top few, exposing a lacy black bra under the shirt. "Nothing I haven't seen before." He smirked. "I wouldn't mind seeing it again."  
  
Enya knocked his hand away and did the buttons up. "Not *that*."  
  
Khal looked at her blankly. What else could she possibly be here for if it wasn't for make up sex? She tugged don his hand, leading him towards the door. Curiosity aroused, he found himself following her to her car.  
  
"Where are we going?" he asked, not recognising any of the roads she was driving down. He didn't like the way she was smirking either, almost cruelly.  
  
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."  
  
* * * 


	16. Part 16

Part 16  
  
Adrianna waited patiently in her car outside the deserted barn house wondering what the hell was going on. She was all for discreet locations - but this place seemed utterly deserted.  
  
She checked her watch. She'd been waiting here for thirty five minutes now. Each time she was tempted to say screw this and leave, that annoying voice inside her was pointing out she'd be missing out on the perfect opportunity to get what she'd always wanted.  
  
But of course, it was taking her a hell of a long time, she for out of the car and started to walk towards the barn. Frowning, Adrianna was sure she smelled a familiar, clawing stench in the air, disturbingly familiar, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.   
  
She was distracted by the dark looming shapes of disused farm equipment dotted around, almost certain someone was hiding behind them. She shook her head in disgust,. There was nothing there.  
  
Since when did crap like this have an effect on her, anyway? Normally Adrianna would be the thing hiding in the darkness, luring the human out somewhere.  
  
She was well aware there were bans on killing in certain areas, that didn't mean she couldn't have fun when she was feeding. And technically, she hadn't broken any laws when she'd killed that idiot Morpheus.   
  
As she headed inside the barn she wondered what had become of the stupid spell. Things were bad enough as they were for her at the moment, she didn't need things made worse by Enya getting as soulmate after all.  
  
The inside of the barn was dark and empty, though with her night vision that really didn't effect her. Still, she found herself looking for a light switch, or something to give a little light, a lamp or torch or something.   
  
"I don't get it, why are we *here*?"  
  
She stopped looking, frowning as she heard Khal's voice.   
  
"In there, I told you."  
  
The frown turned into a scowl when she heard Enya, a second later they appeared inside the doorway.  
  
"What the fuck is going on here?" Adrianna demanded angrily.   
  
She had no intention of trying to persuade Khal they were meant for each other with that bitch around. It was her fault, all of this. If Enya was dead, none of this would be happening.   
  
"You're telling me *she's* the surprise?" Khal shook his head. "I should have known not to trust a fucking puppy."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Enya said dismissively. "That's not the surprise."  
  
"Then what the hell is?" Khal asked.  
  
Adrianna didn't have a clue what they were going on about. She could feel hot tears stinging her eyes. Why did *nothing* ever go right for her? Why?  
  
"This," Enya answered, and was gone in a blur of speed. Adrianna watched the doors of the barn slamming shut. She watched Khal just standing there in confusion , hearing something that sounded like chains locking.  
  
Khal turned to look at her. "They're locking us in a barn together?"  
  
Adrianna shrugged. A small smile was starting to creep over her lips. Locked in a barn with her soulmate, maybe this evening could improve. "I don't know. It makes no sense, true, but why does that have to be a bad thing?"  
  
Khal started to walk over to the barn doors. "Don't even go there." He stopped. "Do you smell something?"  
  
Adrianna was about to answer, but before she could, something was shoved under the barn door. "What the fuck?" Khal bent down to pick it up. Then started screaming.  
  
Adrianna stumbled towards him, but stopped in her tracks. The doors of the barn were on fire. Khal's hand had caught, the dire, deadly to vampires, was quickly consuming his entire body as he flailed wildly.   
  
Khal was making a desperate grab for her. His blackened hands managed to curl around her shoulders. She screamed herself as the fire attacked her. The unexpected light of their soulmate connection flared as his burning skin touched hers exploded around them along with the fire.  
  
* * * 


	17. Part 17

Part 17  
  
It looked like the plan had worked. After they'd set the barn alight with Adrianna and Khal inside Enya left with Valaire and Lizette. Khal was finally out her life for good, so was Adrianna with her stupid revenge plans.   
  
"Look at the bright side, at least they'll burn in hell together," Valaire offered as she dropped Enya off back at her dorm.   
  
Enya just shrugged. "I guess so." She headed up to her room.  
  
Illyria lay on her bed, a magazine in her hands. "How'd it go?"  
  
"All taken care of." Enya sat at her desk and switched on her computer. She wasn't really that much better of than when the whole thing had started.   
  
"It could still work, you know," Illyria offered.  
  
Enya glanced at her. "Your soulmate spell? You were the one that got the soulmate, remember?"  
  
Illyria flushed. "It wasn't meant to happen to me."  
  
"You should have figured out it would."  
  
Illyria sighed. ""I guess."  
  
Enya turned back to her computer.  
  
* * *  
  
"So the whole spell turned out to be a waste of time?" Amara's eyes rolled. "Typical."  
  
She and Illyria were on their way back to Illyria's room. Illyria didn't know what to say. For her benefit, the spell had done some good. Judas wasn't the idea soulmate. He was a lot more arrogant than she'd thought, and had an annoying habit of drifting around and showing up when you least expected him. She knew it was going to be risky being soulmated to an assassin with a shift reputation, but she already knew she wouldn't trade him for anyone.   
  
"How's Enya doing?"  
  
"Back to same reclused way she was before."  
  
Amara's eyes rolled. "Maybe we should have locked *her* in the barn as well."  
  
Illyria pushed open the door to her room. And stopped before going in any further. Walking in on Enya naked with some guy on top of her was not a sight she had particularly wanted to see.  
  
"It looks like your spell finally worked." Enya was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"Uh-Huh. Warn me next time." Illyria shut the door quickly. "Change of plans, we're going to your place instead." She started dragging Amara down the hall.   
  
"What? Why?"  
  
Illyria's eyebrow rose meaningfully.   
  
Amara's own eyes widened. "You're kidding."  
  
Illyria smiled. Magic did have its uses after all.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
